Surgical Options for Pulmonary Atresia with Ventricular Septal Defect in Neonates and Young Infants.

Background: The optimal surgical strategy for pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect (PA/VSD) in neonates and young infants is controversial. Staged repair may be associated with a higher risk of inter-stage mortality, while primary repair may lead to frequent post-repair re-interventions.

Methods: From 2004 to 2017, 65 patients with PA/VSD who underwent surgical intervention before 90 days of age were identified and enrolled in this retrospective study.

Vertical two-dimensional layered fused aromatic ladder structure.

Planar two-dimensional (2D) layered materials such as graphene, metal-organic frameworks, and covalent-organic frameworks are attracting enormous interest in the scientific community because of their unique properties and potential applications. One common feature of these materials is that their building blocks (monomers) are flat and lie in planar 2D structures, with interlayer π-π stacking, parallel to the stacking direction. Due to layer-to-layer confinement, their segmental motion is very restricted, which affects their sorption/desorption kinetics when used as sorbent materials.

Pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and docetaxel for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (CLEOPATRA): end-of-study results from a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study.

Background: CLEOPATRA was a phase 3 study comparing the efficacy and safety of pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and docetaxel with placebo, trastuzumab, and docetaxel in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. In the primary analysis and subsequent reports, progression-free and overall survival were significantly improved in the pertuzumab group compared with the placebo group. Here, we report the end-of-study analysis of CLEOPATRA.

Changes in attention variables in those who treated with anticholinergic agents for nonmonosymptomatic enuresis.

Purpose: Brain dysfunction related to areas regarding attention and arousal may occur not only in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but also in patients with enuresis and daytime symptoms. This study aimed to investigate changes in computerized comprehensive attention tests (CATs), a psychometric test for ADHD when patients with nonmonosymptomatic enuresis (NME) were treated with anticholinergic agents.

Materials And Methods: Thirty patients with NME featuring overactive bladder were prospectively enrolled.

The Effects of a Continuous Olfactory Stimulation Using Breast Milk (COSB) on Behavioral State and Physiological Responses in Korean Premature Infants.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of continuous olfactory stimulation with breast milk (COSB) on behavioral and physiologic states of Korean premature infants.

Design And Methods: We examined the COSB effects on the behavioral states and physiological responses, including heart rate and oxygen saturation, in 30 premature infants using a non-equivalent control group pre- and post-test design. Sterile 2 cm × 2 cm gauzes wet with 2 cc breast milk were placed 10 cm away from the infants' nostrils 8 times per day for 3 consecutive days.

Activation of JNK and p38 in MCF-7 Cells and the In Vitro Anticancer Activity of Extract.

JNK and p38 are important mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) that respond to stress stimuli. The stress-activated MAPKs associated with apoptotic cell death play vital roles in mammalian cells. , which contains abundant diarylheptanoids derivatives, is a valuable medicinal plant.

Super-Strong Carbon Nanotube Fibers Achieved by Engineering Gas Flow and Postsynthesis Treatment.

Carbon nanotube fibers (CNTFs) are directly spun from a floating-catalyst chemical vapor deposition apparatus using gas-phase carbon and an iron nanocatalyst. The essential synthesis and post-treatment factors that affect the strength of CNTFs are investigated to obtain CNTFs with greater strength than those of any previously reported high-performance fibers. The key factors optimized included the degree of rotational flow inside the reactor, the ratio of the starting materials, and the postsynthesis treatment conditions.

Prognostic value of SUVmax on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT scan in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Introduction: The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) in 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) may be of prognostic significance for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). This retrospective study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of the SUVmax in patients with MPM.

Materials And Methods: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for the patients who were diagnosed with histopathologically proven MPM between 2009 and 2018 at Samsung Medical Center.

Development of tuberculosis in cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Background: Limited data exist on the development of tuberculosis (TB) in cancer patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).

Method: s: We evaluated the development of TB in 1144 solid-cancer patients who started ICIs (pembrolizumab, nivolumab, or atezolizumab) between July 2014 and December 2018.

Results: A total of 1144 cancer patients were treated with ICIs.

Induction of Th2 response through TLR2-mediated MyD88-dependent pathway in human microfold cells stimulated with chitosan nanoparticles loaded with Brucella abortus Mdh.

Drug delivery by the nasal or oral route is considered the preferred route of administration because it can induce systemic mucosal immunity. However, few studies have examined the immunogenicity and transport of antigen at the level of the microfold (M) cell, the epithelial cell that specializes in antigen sampling at mucosal surfaces. In our previous study, Brucella abortus malate dehydrogenase (Mdh) was loaded in chitosan nanoparticles (CNs), and it induced high production of proinflammatory cytokines in THP-1 cells and systemic IgA in BALB/C mice.

Induction of systemic immunity through nasal-associated lymphoid tissue (NALT) of mice intranasally immunized with Brucella abortus malate dehydrogenase-loaded chitosan nanoparticles.

Infection with Brucella abortus causes contagious zoonosis, brucellosis, and leads to abortion in animals and chronic illness in humans. Chitosan nanoparticles (CNs), biocompatible and nontoxic polymers, acts as a mucosal adjuvant. In our previous study, B.

S-100-Negative malignant pulmonary granular cell tumor: A case report.

Malignant pulmonary granular cell tumor (GCT) is extremely rare and difficult to distinguish from benign GCT. Most GCTs are neural-type and express S-100. However, a small subset of tumors sub-classified as the non-neural type do not express S-100.

Intraoperative Anesthetic Management of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease to Decrease the Risk of Postoperative Pulmonary Complications after Abdominal Surgery.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exhibit airflow limitation and suboptimal lung function, and they are at high risk of developing postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs). We aimed to determine the factors that would decrease PPC risk in patients with COPD. We retrospectively analyzed 419 patients with COPD who were registered in our institutional PPC database and had undergone an abdominal surgery under general anesthesia.

Impact of diffusing lung capacity before and after neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiation on postoperative pulmonary complications among patients with stage IIIA/N2 non-small-cell lung cancer.

Background And Objective: This study aims to evaluate the impact of diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLco) before and after neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) on postoperative pulmonary complication (PPC) among stage IIIA/N2 non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

Methods: We retrospectively studied 324 patients with stage IIIA/N2 NSCLC between 2009 and 2016. Patients were classified into 4 groups according to DLco before and after neoadjuvant CCRT; normal-to-normal (NN), normal-to-low (NL), low-to-low (LL), and low-to-very low (LVL).

Do junctional neural tube defect and segmental spinal dysgenesis have the same pathoembryological background?

Introduction: Junctional neural tube defect (JNTD) is a recently introduced form of congenital spinal dysraphism that is characterized by functional disconnection between the primary and secondary neural tubes. The upper and lower cords appeared to be connected by a non-functioning band-like structure. JNTD is suspected to arise from a developmental error not corresponding to either primary or secondary neurulation, but rather between the two neurulation processes.

Engineering Pseudomonas putida KT2440 to convert 2,3-butanediol to mevalonate.

Biological production of 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO), a C4 platform chemical, has been studied recently, but the high cost of separation and purification before chemical conversion is substantial. To overcome this obstacle, we have conducted a study to convert 2,3-BDO to mevalonate, a terpenoid intermediate, using recombinant Pseudomonas putida and this biological process won't need the separation and purification process of 2,3-BDO. The production of mevalonate when 2,3-BDO was used as a substrate was 6.

Dissociating stable nitrogen molecules under mild conditions by cyclic strain engineering.

All quiet on the nitrogen front. The dissociation of stable diatomic nitrogen molecules (N) is one of the most challenging tasks in the scientific community and currently requires both high pressure and high temperature. Here, we demonstrate that N can be dissociated under mild conditions by cyclic strain engineering.

Randomised Phase 2 study of lapatinib and vinorelbine vs vinorelbine in patients with HER2 + metastatic breast cancer after lapatinib and trastuzumab treatment (KCSG BR11-16).

Background: The continuum of anti-HER2 agents is a standard treatment of HER2 + metastatic breast cancer (MBC). This study evaluated the efficacy of lapatinib plus vinorelbine in patients progressed on both trastuzumab and lapatinib treatments.

Methods: A total of 149 patients were randomly assigned to lapatinib with vinorelbine (LV) (n = 75; lapatinib, 1000 mg daily; vinorelbine 20 mg/m D1, D8 q3w) or vinorelbine (V) (n = 74; 30 mg/m D1, D8 q3w).

Elicitation of Th1/Th2 related responses in mice by chitosan nanoparticles loaded with Brucella abortus malate dehydrogenase, outer membrane proteins 10 and 19.

Brucella spp. is the causative agent of brucellosis, one of the worldwide diseases. The pathogen infects humans and animals mainly through the digestive or respiratory tract.

Palbociclib plus exemestane with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist versus capecitabine in premenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer (KCSG-BR15-10): a multicentre, open-label, randomised, phase 2 trial.

Background: Endocrine treatment is recommended by clinical guidelines as the preferred treatment option for premenopausal as well as postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. In real-world clinical practice, however, a substantial number of patients are treated with chemotherapy. We aimed to compare the clinical antitumour activity and safety of palbociclib plus endocrine therapy with that of capecitabine chemotherapy in premenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer.

Structural analysis of human sterol transfer protein STARD4.

The steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR)-related lipid transfer domain-4 (STARD4) is a sterol-binding protein that is involved in cholesterol homeostasis by intracellular sterol transport. In this work, we determined the crystal structures of human STARD4 and its Ω1-loop mutant in apo forms at 1.95 and 1.

Characterization of an anti-foaming and fast-setting gypsum for dental stone.

Objective: An anti-foaming and fast-setting gypsum for dental stone recently became available on the market. Interestingly, this product can be mixed by the cocktail shaking method, providing a more convenient way to obtain high reproducibility when fabricating error-free study models for digital dentistry. The aim of this study is to investigate setting time, surface bubble formation, and other gypsum characteristics of three dental stone products with different mixing methods.